Adjustable and portable track-section



Ptented Mar. I4, I899.

a. E. sum.

ADJUSTABLE AND PORTABLE TRACK SECTION. (Abplication filed Nov. 11,1898.)

(No Modei.)

I .II

WITNESS: t l/VVEIVTO I ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. SURGI, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

ADJUSTABLE AND PORTABLE TRACK-SECTION- SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 620,992, dated March 14, 1899.

' Application filed November 1 1, 1898. Serial No. 696,187. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. SURGI, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing in the city of New Orleans, parish of Orleans, Stateof Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAdjustable and Portable Track-Sections, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to provide an adjustable and portabletrack section for easily shifting and extending the track of apile-driver, traveling derrick, steam-shovel, or other machinery of thischaracter.

In the use of such machines in construction and erection it is necessaryto often move them about overa temporary track supported on a series ofpiles or trestle-bents, and owing to the irregularity in the spacing ofthe supports and the heavy character of the machinery it has been founddifficult to' shift and extend the track without blocking up and takinga great deal of time.

The object of the present invention is to avoid the tedious andexpensive method of blocking up the temporary track between supports andto save a large amount of the time heretofore used in moving the machinefrom one pile to the next or from one part of the work to another,during which time the machine is necessarily idle.

The invention consists of a series of adj ustable frames each composedof two beams or stringers placed a short distance apart and carryingseveral short cross-ties for support ing the rail, the construction ofall which will now be fully described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view showing threeadj ustable tracksections carried on a series of piles. Fig. 2 is a planshowing in dotted lines the arrangement of adjustable frames applied toan irregular spacing of piles. Fig. 3 is a plan of one of the adjustabletrack-sections. Fig. 4 is a rear end elevation thereof. Fig. 5shows indiagram a modified arrangement of the frames.

The piles or upright supports are denoted by a, and two or more of theseare usually united at the top by a cross-piece or cap, forming a bent ofpiles. These bents may be regularly or irregularly spaced, and it isover these spaces that the adjustable frames are adapted to be placed.These frames are composed of two beams or stringers (I, which are placedwith their ends near together on one bent, while their other ends areseparated some distance and rest on the adjacent bent,

making a V-shaped frame. The term frame is used to denote the two beamsor stringers d, placed in position as described and secured together ornot, as desired. These stringers may be secured together by nailing theshort pieces or cross-ties thereto; but it is not always necessary to dothis, since they will often remain securely in position without nailing.The forward point of each frame is adapted to project into the spacebetween the rear end of the beams d of the next preceding frame, asclearly shown in Fig. 2. The ends of the beams are spaced far enoughapart to give a firm and stable support for the series of shortcross-tiesf, that are placed upon them at short intervals. The rails gare laid upon the cross-ties and may be loosely spiked thereto. Two setsor lines of frames are laid the proper distance apart for the two linesof rails g, forming the track upon which the traveler, pile-driver, orother machine is moved. At each end of each frame is placed a longcross-tie e, which reaches across the width of the track-sections andstrengthens the con struction.

In setting up one of the adjustable frames the two beams or stringersare placed side by side across the trestle bents or caps, the an glebetween the two beams being adjusted to any desired degree by separatingthe beams at one end. The short cross-ties are then placed upon thebeams or stringers and may be secured thereto or not, as desired. Thecorresponding frame on the other side of the track having been adjustedin a similar manner, the long cross-ties are then placedacross the twoframes, one at each end. Several sections of the track are set up inthis way, and the rails are secured to the cross-ties as abovedescribed.

When it is desired to shift or extend the track, the machine is movedonto the forward sections, while the rear frames are readily taken upand placed in front, the frames always meshing with those already laidby the V-shaped arrangement already described.

The space between bents may be long, so that the frames will just reach,or the bents may be so close that the same frame overlaps on each sideand meshes deeper into the angle of the adjacent frames. The frames arealways made long enough to reach the maximum distance between bents andso proportioned that they may be contracted by meshingto take in thenarrowest distance.

The rails being loosely nailed may be easily moved, and it is thepractice to keep an assortment of lengths on hand, although this is notabsolutelynecessary, for they may project beyond the frames and be slidalong to different positions.

If fixed lengths of frames were used without meshing, it wouldfrequently happen that the end of a frame and its rail would come inbetween the bents, which would then have to be blocked up to preventtipping. By the use of my adjustable meshing frames this is avoided, anda great saving of time and expense results.

The triangular or V-shaped arrangement of the meshing frames is found tobe most advantageous and preferable; but the frames might be laid inother ways, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 5. By this arrangement theframes are laid parallel, so that one pair is narrower than the other,and they mesh together in this way; but this arrangement has somedisadvantages, for if two wide frames should chance to come together,which might easily happen, they would not mesh. In the trian- 1. Aportable track-section comprising a series of adjustable triangular orV-shaped frames meshing together, cross-ties thereon and a rail carriedby the cross-ties.

2. An adjustable frame for portable tracksections consisting of twobeams or stringers placed together at an angle in the form of a V theangle being adjustable in order to mesh with similar frames fordifferent spans.

3. A series of adj ust-able V-shaped frames for a portable track, shortcross-ties on each frame and long cross-ties reaching across the trackand joining a pair of frames.

4:. In a portable track-section adjustable frames consisting of twobeams laid side by side and meshing with adjacent frames, shortcross-ties joining the two beams of each frame, long cross-ties joiningframes on opposite sides of the track and rails located over each lineof frames.

5. In a portable track-section a series of frames, each consisting oftwo beams or stringers laid side by side, and each frame meshing withthe adjoining frames, cross-ties supported on the stringers and a railon each line of frames.

GEORGE E. SURGI.

WVitnesses:

FRANK MoGLoIN, JULEs BUEHEL.

